You are currently on the new version of our website. Access the old version .

45 Results Found

  • Article
  • Open Access
25 Citations
4,991 Views
17 Pages

Biological Control Potential and Drawbacks of Three Zoophytophagous Mirid Predators against Bemisia tabaci in the United States

  • Amy Roda,
  • Jose Castillo,
  • Carina Allen,
  • Alberto Urbaneja,
  • Meritxell Pérez-Hedo,
  • Scott Weihman and
  • Philip A. Stansly

1 October 2020

Miridae (Hemiptera) of the tribe Dicyphini are important zoophytophagous predators use to control pest arthropods in vegetable crops. However, the risk that their herbivory may cause economic damage could hinder their application as useful biocontrol...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
4,015 Views
12 Pages

Can the Combined Use of the Mirid Predator Nesidiocoris tenuis and a Braconid Larval Endoparasitoid Dolichogenidea gelechiidivoris Improve the Biological Control of Tuta absoluta?

  • Pascal Osa Aigbedion-Atalor,
  • Martin P. Hill,
  • Pascal Mahukpe Ayelo,
  • Shepard Ndlela,
  • Myron P. Zalucki and
  • Samira A. Mohamed

8 November 2021

The koinobiont solitary larval endoparasitoid Dolichogenidea gelechiidivoris (Marsh) (Syn.: Apanteles gelechiidivoris) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and the predatory bug Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) are important natural enemies of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
3,617 Views
14 Pages

Persistence of the Exotic Mirid Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae) in South Texas

  • Gabriela Esparza-Diaz,
  • Thiago Marconi,
  • Carlos A. Avila and
  • Raul T. Villanueva

10 August 2021

The Rio Grande Valley is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the U.S and is located in the southernmost part of Texas. In October 2013, we detected an exotic plant bug, Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Hemiptera: Miridae: Bryocorinae) occurri...

  • Article
  • Open Access
60 Citations
8,390 Views
10 Pages

Functional Responses of Three Neotropical Mirid Predators to Eggs of Tuta absoluta on Tomato

  • Joop C. Van Lenteren,
  • Lia Hemerik,
  • Juracy C. Lins and
  • Vanda H. P. Bueno

12 July 2016

Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) has quickly developed into a significant tomato pest worldwide. While the recently found mirid predators Macrolophus basicornis (Stal), Engytatus varians (Distant) and Campyloneuropsis infumatus (Carvalho) of this pest are abl...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
2,721 Views
14 Pages

Recent studies have suggested that predatory mirid bugs may be an effective alternative for controlling aphids in sweet pepper greenhouses. This study examined the effect of three constant temperatures (18, 24, and 30 °C) on the life history trai...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
6,768 Views
6 Pages

Isolation and Characterization of Twelve Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci for the Cocoa Mirid Bug Sahlbergella Singularis

  • Régis Babin,
  • Catherine Fenouillet,
  • Thierry Legavre,
  • Laurence Blondin,
  • Caroline Calatayud,
  • Ange-Marie Risterucci and
  • Marie-Pierre Chapuis

10 April 2012

Mirids are the primary pests affecting cocoa production in Africa, but no genetic studies have been conducted on these insects. Here we report the isolation and characterization of 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci for Sahlbergella singularis. A mic...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
5,476 Views
14 Pages

Beneficial Insects Deliver Plant Growth-Promoting Bacterial Endophytes between Tomato Plants

  • Nikoletta Galambos,
  • Stéphane Compant,
  • Felix Wäckers,
  • Angela Sessitsch,
  • Gianfranco Anfora,
  • Valerio Mazzoni,
  • Ilaria Pertot and
  • Michele Perazzolli

Beneficial insects and mites, including generalist predators of the family Miridae, are widely used in biocontrol programs against many crop pests, such as whiteflies, aphids, lepidopterans and mites. Mirid predators frequently complement their carni...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
3,025 Views
12 Pages

15 December 2020

Axiomatically, symmetry is a fundamental property of mathematical functions defining similarity measures, where similarity measures are important tools in many areas of computer science, including machine learning and image processing. In this paper,...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,030 Views
12 Pages

Begomovirus Transmission to Tomato Plants Is Not Hampered by Plant Defenses Induced by Dicyphus hesperus Knight

  • Saioa Legarrea,
  • Angela Gabrielle LaTora,
  • Alvin M. Simmons and
  • Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan

10 April 2024

Plants can respond to insect infestation and virus infection by inducing plant defenses, generally mediated by phytohormones. Moreover, plant defenses alter host quality for insect vectors with consequences for the spread of viruses. In agricultural...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
2,774 Views
10 Pages

The Effect of Mirid Density on Volatile-Mediated Foraging Behaviour of Apolygus lucorum and Peristenus spretus

  • Han Chen,
  • Honghua Su,
  • Shuai Zhang,
  • Tianxing Jing,
  • Zhe Liu and
  • Yizhong Yang

25 September 2021

Plants would release herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) to repel herbivores and attract natural enemies after being damaged by herbivores. In this study, after cotton plants were damaged by different densities of Apolygus lucorum, the behavior...

  • Article
  • Open Access
18 Citations
6,795 Views
10 Pages

8 June 2015

Integrated Pest Management strategies are widely implemented in sweet peppers. Aphid biological control on sweet pepers includes curative applications of parasitoids and generalist predators, but with limited efficiency. Macrolophus pygmaeus is a zoo...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
3,241 Views
18 Pages

Sesame as an Alternative Host Plant to Establish and Retain Predatory Mirids in Open-Field Tomatoes

  • Jose Castillo,
  • Amy Roda,
  • Jawwad Qureshi,
  • Meritxell Pérez-Hedo,
  • Alberto Urbaneja and
  • Philip Stansly

20 October 2022

The silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) and the South America tomato pinworm (Tuta absoluta) are two of the most destructive pests of tomato. Open-field tomato production frequently relies on chemical treatments, which has been shown to lead to pest...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,459 Views
11 Pages

Pesticidal Potential and Selectivity of Soybean Extract on Pests and Non-Target Insects of Cocoa

  • Silas Wintuma Avicor,
  • Yahaya Bukari,
  • Michael Kojo Ainooson,
  • Godfred Kweku Awudzi and
  • Wisdom Edem Anyomi

19 February 2025

With the search for alternative pest management strategies due to the concerns associated with synthetic pesticides, botanicals have been of increasing interest. However, the potential of plants such as soybean (Glycine max) as biopesticides is less...

  • Article
  • Open Access
16 Citations
3,571 Views
8 Pages

19 July 2019

The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, is a pest of greenhouse-grown tomato. Restrictions on insecticides in enclosed structures and the presence of commercial pollinators limit the options for the chemical control of whiteflies in greenhouses, in...

  • Article
  • Open Access
826 Views
23 Pages

27 August 2025

Apolygus lucorum is one of the main pests affecting tea quality. Chemical control is the primary method for managing this pest, but issues such as pesticide residues and the development of resistance are inevitable. The pest’s extensive host ra...

  • Article
  • Open Access
278 Views
14 Pages

6 January 2026

The widespread cultivation of transgenic Bt cotton has elevated Apolygus lucorum (Meyer-Dür) to a major pest in cotton agroecosystems. Its rapidly developing resistance to insecticides poses a serious challenge to sustainable agriculture. In thi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
12 Citations
4,815 Views
15 Pages

Cellular Localization of Two Rickettsia Symbionts in the Digestive System and within the Ovaries of the Mirid Bug, Macrolophous pygmaeus

  • Maria Dally,
  • Maya Lalzar,
  • Eduard Belausov,
  • Yuval Gottlieb,
  • Moshe Coll and
  • Einat Zchori-Fein

13 August 2020

Bacterial symbionts in arthropods are common, vary in their effects, and can dramatically influence the outcome of biological control efforts. Macrolophus pygmaeus (Heteroptera: Miridae), a key component of biological control programs, is mainly pred...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
3,023 Views
18 Pages

Integrated Omics Analysis Reveals Key Pathways in Cotton Defense against Mirid Bug (Adelphocoris suturalis Jakovlev) Feeding

  • Hui Lu,
  • Shuaichao Zheng,
  • Chao Ma,
  • Xueke Gao,
  • Jichao Ji,
  • Junyu Luo,
  • Hongxia Hua and
  • Jinjie Cui

8 April 2024

The recent dominance of Adelphocoris suturalis Jakovlev as the primary cotton field pest in Bt-cotton-cultivated areas has generated significant interest in cotton pest control research. This study addresses the limited understanding of cotton defens...

  • Review
  • Open Access
2,034 Views
26 Pages

23 April 2025

Lygus pratensis (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is an agricultural pest widely distributed across Europe, China, North Africa, the Middle East, and India. The population of L. pratensis has increased in recent years due to the prolonged reproductive...

  • Article
  • Open Access
991 Views
16 Pages

24 March 2025

The predatory function and numerical responses of natural enemy insects are critical for evaluating their biological control potential, particularly in understanding pest suppression mechanisms and ecological adaptability. Here, we examined the preda...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,144 Views
21 Pages

Screening of Predatory Natural Enemies of Lygus pratensis in Cotton Fields and Evaluation of Their Predatory Effects

  • Pengfei Li,
  • Kunyan Wang,
  • Tailong Li,
  • Liqiang Ma,
  • Changqing Gou and
  • Hongzu Feng

28 August 2025

Lygus pratensis is a major pest of cotton, causing serious damage to cotton production. This study designed species-specific PCR detection primers for L. pratensis, established a detection system to identify L. pratensis DNA in the intestinal content...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,823 Views
12 Pages

Studies on Lygus pratensis’ (Hemiptera: Miridae) Flight Ability

  • Yixiang Zheng,
  • Pengfei Li,
  • Tailong Li,
  • Kunyan Wang,
  • Changqing Gou and
  • Hongzu Feng

30 September 2024

Lygus pratensis (Linnaeus) is an important agricultural pest with a strong ability to move and spread between hosts. However, L. pratensis’ flight potential and factors affecting its flight ability are unclear. We used the insect flight informa...

  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
4,287 Views
11 Pages

Occurrence and Distribution of Apolygus lucorum on Weed Hosts and Tea Plants in Tea Plantation Ecosystems

  • Yueyue Tian,
  • Hanyue Wang,
  • Jian Hou,
  • Lixia Zhang,
  • Zhengqun Zhang and
  • Xiaoming Cai

11 June 2019

The mirid bugs are one of the most important piercing–sucking insect pests in tea plantations, which severely reduce the quality and economic benefits of tea. In this study, the mirid bug species in the three tea-producing areas in Shandong Pro...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
3,991 Views
12 Pages

Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky) on Cocoa Pods (Theobroma cacao L.): Matter of Bugs and Fungi

  • Shivaji Hausrao Thube,
  • R. Thava Prakasa Pandian,
  • Arulappan Josephrajkumar,
  • Anthara Bhavishya,
  • B. J. Nirmal Kumar,
  • Dnyaneshwar M. Firake,
  • Vivek Shah,
  • T. N. Madhu and
  • Enrico Ruzzier

5 September 2022

Exudation of mucilage from pinhead-sized boreholes in cocoa pods was recorded in Karnataka, India, during 2021. Further investigations showed the association of scolytine beetles with infested pods. The identity of the pest, Xylosandrus crassiusculus...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,963 Views
10 Pages

24 February 2023

Low-temperature storage (LTS) is a way to adjust natural enemy development to meet field release needs and to protect natural enemies from the odds of long-distance transportation. The mirid bug Cyrtorhinus lividipennis Reuter (Hemiptera: Miridae) is...

  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
2,650 Views
16 Pages

Adenosine Monophosphate-Activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) Phosphorylation Is Required for 20-Hydroxyecdysone Regulates Ecdysis in Apolygus lucorum

  • Yongan Tan,
  • Liubin Xiao,
  • Jing Zhao,
  • Jieyu Zhang,
  • Sheraz Ahmad,
  • Dejin Xu,
  • Guangchun Xu and
  • Linquan Ge

The plant mirid bug Apolygus lucorum is an omnivorous pest that can cause considerable economic damage. The steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) is mainly responsible for molting and metamorphosis. The adenosine monophosphate-activated protein ki...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
3,309 Views
14 Pages

Half Friend, Half Enemy? Comparative Phytophagy between Two Dicyphini Species (Hemiptera: Miridae)

  • Paula Souto,
  • Gonçalo Abraços-Duarte,
  • Elsa Borges da Silva and
  • Elisabete Figueiredo

7 February 2022

Despite their importance as biological control agents, zoophytophagous dicyphine mirids can produce economically important damage. We evaluated the phytophagy and potential impact on tomato plants of Dicyphus cerastii and Nesidiocoris tenuis. We deve...

  • Article
  • Open Access
56 Citations
7,825 Views
13 Pages

Stage-Related Defense Response Induction in Tomato Plants by Nesidiocoris tenuis

  • Mario Naselli,
  • Alberto Urbaneja,
  • Gaetano Siscaro,
  • Josep A. Jaques,
  • Lucia Zappalà,
  • Víctor Flors and
  • Meritxell Pérez-Hedo

The beneficial effects of direct predation by zoophytophagous biological control agents (BCAs), such as the mirid bug Nesidiocoris tenuis, are well-known. However, the benefits of zoophytophagous BCAs’ relation with host plants, via induction of plan...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
3,471 Views
13 Pages

Landscape Effects on the Abundance of Apolygus lucorum in Cotton Fields

  • Minlong Li,
  • Long Yang,
  • Yunfei Pan,
  • Qian Zhang,
  • Haibin Yuan and
  • Yanhui Lu

14 March 2020

Resource-continuity over spatial and temporal scales plays a central role in the population abundance of polyphagous pests in an agricultural landscape. Shifts in the agricultural land use in a region may alter the configuration of key resource habit...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
3,480 Views
12 Pages

8 February 2023

Nowadays, in protected vegetable crops, pest management based mainly on biological control represents the most sustainable alternative to pesticide use. The cotton whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, is one of the key pests that negatively impact the yield and...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,808 Views
12 Pages

Choice and No-Choice Feeding Assays of Cotton Fleahoppers (Pseudatomoscelis seriatus) on Cotton Expressing the Mpp51Aa2 Protein

  • Brady P. Arthur,
  • Charles P.-C. Suh,
  • Benjamin M. McKnight,
  • Megha N. Parajulee,
  • Fei Yang and
  • David L. Kerns

29 December 2023

In Texas, the cotton fleahopper (Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter)) is considered a highly economically damaging pest of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Current control methods rely heavily on foliar chemical insecticides throughout the growing seas...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
1,816 Views
11 Pages

28 June 2024

The predatory mirids Macrolophus pygmaeus Ramber (Heteroptera: Miridae) and Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Heteroptera: Miridae) are used for the biological control of Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) and other pests in tomato greenhouse...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
4,410 Views
14 Pages

Risk Assessment of Insecticides Used in Tomato to Control Whitefly on the Predator Macrolophus basicornis (Hemiptera: Miridae)

  • Thaís Fagundes Matioli,
  • Mariana Rosa da Silva,
  • Juliano de Bastos Pazini,
  • Geovanny Barroso,
  • Júlia Gabriela Aleixo Vieira and
  • Pedro Takao Yamamoto

7 December 2021

The generalist mirid predator Macrolophus basicornis may contribute to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) of Bemisia tabaci in tomato crops. It is important to know the compatibility of the chemicals used to control this pest with this promising biolog...

  • Review
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,862 Views
18 Pages

Paulownia Witches’ Broom Disease: A Comprehensive Review

  • Yajie Zhang,
  • Zesen Qiao,
  • Jidong Li and
  • Assunta Bertaccini

Phytoplasmas are insect-transmitted bacterial pathogens associated with diseases in a wide range of host plants, resulting in significant economic and ecological losses. Perennial deciduous trees in the genus Paulownia are widely planted for wood har...

  • Review
  • Open Access
1,419 Views
27 Pages

Transforming Tuta absoluta Management: A Synergistic Approach Integrating Sustainability, Biological Control, and Biotechnological Innovations

  • Abdul Basit,
  • Farman Ullah,
  • Muhammad Rehan Akhtar,
  • Muhammad Humza,
  • Muhammad Adeel Ghafar,
  • Moazam Hyder,
  • Inzamam Ul Haq and
  • Youming Hou

17 November 2025

Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917), commonly known as the tomato pinworm, is a destructive pest of tomato and other solanaceous crops worldwide that leads to large yield losses. Because of the increasing resistance to chemical insecticides, alternative me...

  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
4,868 Views
15 Pages

Functional Response and Predation Rate of Dicyphus cerastii Wagner (Hemiptera: Miridae)

  • Gonçalo Abraços-Duarte,
  • Susana Ramos,
  • Fernanda Valente,
  • Elsa Borges da Silva and
  • Elisabete Figueiredo

7 June 2021

Dicyphine mirids are important biological control agents (BCAs) in horticultural crops. Dicyphus cerastii Wagner can be found in protected tomato crops in Portugal, and has been observed feeding on several tomato pests. However, the predation capacit...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
3,607 Views
19 Pages

6 October 2021

The pyrokinin (PK) family of insect neuropeptides, characterized by C termini consisting of either WFGPRLamide (i.e., PK1) or FXPRLamide (i.e., PK2), are encoded on the capa and pk genes. Although implicated in diverse biological functions, character...

  • Review
  • Open Access
3 Citations
3,609 Views
21 Pages

Floral Resource Integration: Enhancing Biocontrol of Tuta absoluta Within Sustainable IPM Frameworks

  • Moazam Hyder,
  • Inzamam Ul Haq,
  • Muhammad Younas,
  • Muhammad Adeel Ghafar,
  • Muhammad Rehan Akhtar,
  • Zubair Ahmed,
  • Aslam Bukero and
  • Youming Hou

22 January 2025

The tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta, is a pest threatening global tomato production. This pest’s adaptability and resistance to chemical insecticides have necessitated integrated pest management (IPM) strategies prioritizing sustainable altern...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
2,969 Views
17 Pages

Metabolomic and Genomic Approach to Study Defense Induction by Nesidiocoris tenuis against Tuta absoluta and Tetranychus urticae in Tomato Plants

  • Nomi Sarmah,
  • Athanasios Kaldis,
  • Ioannis Kalampokis,
  • Konstantinos A. Aliferis,
  • Andreas Voloudakis and
  • Dionysios Perdikis

4 September 2022

The phytophagy of the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae) can trigger defense responses in tomato plants against pests, such as two spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and South American leaf miner Tuta absolu...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
2,816 Views
20 Pages

The Phosphoserine Phosphatase Alters the Free Amino Acid Compositions and Fecundity in Cyrtorhinus lividipennis Reuter

  • Sheraz Ahmad,
  • Jieyu Zhang,
  • Huaiqi Wang,
  • Haowen Zhu,
  • Qiaoqiao Dong,
  • Suman Zong,
  • Tingting Wang,
  • Yu Chen and
  • Linquan Ge

4 December 2022

The mirid bug Cyrtorhinus lividipennis (Reuter) is an important predator that consumes eggs and young nymphs of the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens as a primary food source and thus becomes an important member of the rice ecosystem. We identifie...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
2,834 Views
13 Pages

Contrasting Phenotypic Variability of Life-History Traits of Two Feral Populations of Macrolophus pygmaeus (Hemiptera: Miridae) under Two Alternative Diets

  • Isabel Borges,
  • Luísa Oliveira,
  • Ana C. Durão,
  • Patrícia Arruda,
  • Elisabete Figueiredo,
  • José Carlos Franco,
  • Eric Lucas and
  • António O. Soares

30 December 2022

Tuta absoluta is a major pest attacking tomato crops. This invasive species emerged in Europe (Spain) in 2006, and 3 years later it spread to Portugal. In 2009/2010, it was recorded for the first time in the Azores archipelago. Macrolophus pygmaeus i...

  • Article
  • Open Access
16 Citations
6,604 Views
17 Pages

19 May 2019

To obtain a better understanding of feeding adaptations, the fine structure of the mouthparts in adults of Cheilocapsus nigrescens Liu and Wang, including the sculpture and interlocking mechanisms of the stylets and distribution and abundance of sens...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
5,850 Views
22 Pages

11 April 2024

Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae) is a generalist predator commonly used to control the whitefly Bemisia tabaci in Europe. This mirid has been found and established in South Texas, where it was initially observed feeding on nymphs of the psyll...

  • Article
  • Open Access
14 Citations
5,476 Views
13 Pages

dsRNA-Mediated Pest Management of Tuta absoluta Is Compatible with Its Biological Control Agent Nesidiocoris tenuis

  • Nomi Sarmah,
  • Athanasios Kaldis,
  • Clauvis Nji Tizi Taning,
  • Dionysios Perdikis,
  • Guy Smagghe and
  • Andreas Voloudakis

24 March 2021

RNAi-mediated insect pest management has recently shown promising results against the most serious pest of tomato, the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta. This study aimed to investigate whether dsRNA (dsTa-αCOP) designed to target the T. absoluta-αCOP...

  • Review
  • Open Access
25 Citations
6,141 Views
14 Pages

18 June 2023

The intercropping of cover crops has been adopted in several agroecosystems, including tea agroecosystems, which promotes ecological intensification. Prior studies have shown that growing cover crops in tea plantations provided different ecological s...